In other words, the lawyer is required to communicate sufficient information to the client regarding a possible conflict. And the client then must give his consent. Jones does not say that he communicated anything to Siegelman about the conflict. Jones says Siegelman was "well aware of" the civil case, but he does not say that Siegelman was well aware of Jones' involvement in it--and any conflict it might pose. Jones does not say that Siegelman consented to anything, as required by ethics rules.
* "I did not represent him at trial due to a trial conflict with another matter and it is the trial where the rubber meets the road with regard to such issues"--That's not what Alabama ethics rules say--not even close. Let's return to the first sentence of Rule 1.7(b) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct:
A lawyer shall not represent a client if . . .
The rules say that "a lawyer shall not represent a client" at any point if there is a conflict. The "rubber does not meet the road" at trial. It meets the road at the outset of the attorney-client relationship. Jones either is grossly ill informed on this subject, or he is flat-out lying.
* "Scrushy was ultimately dismissed from our case without any settlement or judgment against him."--Again, Jones is full of rubbish. Under the Rules of Professional Conduct, the outcome of the HealthSouth lawsuit regarding Scrushy is irrelevant. The two simple questions are these: (1) Did Jones inform Siegelman about a potential conflict? (2) Did Siegelman consent to the representation after being informed?
Based on Jones' own words, the answers to both questions appear to be no.
You can almost hear Jones' feet shuffling as he tries to avoid answering Kreig's questions. I know what that's like. I called Jones on the telephone recently and posed questions to him on several justice-related matters. He refused to answer any of them.
Is this the kind of person who should be making recommendations to the Obama White House? The answer is no. And Andrew Kreig has an excellent suggestion on how the Beck nomination should proceed:
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